Flames
by Siri-Wan Kenobi
Summary: A young woman is trying to find a new life while she's still haunted by her previous one.
1. Searching and Finding

**AN: Howdy folks? I'm baack! And with astory for my newest love, Elmont. :) First of all, I have to thank you senrendipityAEY for giving me the idea for the story and for standing by my side all the way through. You rock, girl! :D**

 **I hope you guys like it, please read and review! ^^**

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 **Flames**

 **Chapter 1: Searching and Finding**

The usually crowded training ground of Cloister was covered in more and more snow by each passing day. The people of Cloister was all in a hurry to get ready for the winter before the weather got worse, and a certain captain was making sure that people were behaving nicely and were doing what they should be doing.

Sitting on top of his brown Mustang and with a woollen cloak around him, Elmont rode slowly through the snow-covered market. _I hope that everybody is ready for the up-coming storm_ , he thought with weariness. He has seen, with his own eyes, men and women that have been brutally taken away from the world by the heart-chilling cold, and it was never a lovely sight.

It was snowing more by each minutes that went by and the market was getting quiet as the night fell around the town as an invisible curtain. However, as Elmont was about to ride back to the castle, he scouted a figure on the outskirts of the market. He couldn't see clearly who it was, but from how the person walked and the physique, he could point out that it was a woman.

With haste he urged his horse forward as the figure fell slowly to the ground.

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Adreana Elwin was cold and hungry. She didn't know where she was, but she didn't care. She has endured worse thing, what were frost and starvation for her? She snorted to herself and pulled her thin cloak tighter around herself. She couldn't endure him any more, after five years, she has had enough.

It was luck that she managed to put the drug, with him noticing, in his ale and knock him out. She didn't cast one last glance when she left that dreadful house. At that time, Adreana didn't know she should go, she didn't have any family or friend that lived near by. Even so she left. She left without regrets. _No, I have never regretted that I left_ , she thought.

So she walked, over mountains and tough terrains, to the neighbouring kingdom. She has been to the kingdom before, when she was younger, with her parents. She met a nice and cute boy there too, and they got to know each other pretty well during her visit. But time flew pass them as wind, and before she knew it, it was time to say good bye. And she did so, with a heavy heart she left him. Now and then, the image of a tall and sad boy waving good bye came unbidden to her mind, haunting her. She didn't know why she had a nasty and painful feeling inside her heart at that time, but as she grew older, and the pain was becoming bigger, she knew. Yet, she turned her back against the feeling and married another guy.

And here she was, standing once again in the market that she left twenty-one years ago. As she stood there, her body started to tremble and she couldn't stop it. _No, I can't stop now. I need to find him. I_ have _to find him_. Since she was young, Adreana was known for her stubbornness and her will for keep going on. But it was her determination that kept she alive from the monster that she married. And thanks to her stubbornness, she managed the four day trip to Cloister.

With small and as steady steps she could manage, she walked around the market, searching for a warm shelter. However, most of the places were closed, except for a few taverns. But a tavern was one of the last places Adreana wanted to stay; drunk, and even pissed men. Shouting and fighting… So she walked on, step by step, willing her body forward.

Suddenly, something cold hit her right cheek and the rest of her body. It took awhile before she noticed she was laying on the snow-covered and ice-chilling ground. Her body shook even more, she willed it to still, but it didn't work. She was so tired that she didn't bother to try to stand up, she knew that she would just fall down again. _I'll just rest a bit...just a bit_. Shortly before she closed her eyes completely, she saw something was approaching her with high speed. Adreana opened her mouth, forming the word "stop" but no sound came. She was so tired…

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As soon as Elmont was near the poor soul, he jumped down from his horse and ran towards the figure. As the distance decreased, Elmont was sure that it was a woman. Carefully, he lifted her up and wrapped his arms around her small body.

Giving the woman a tender shake, Elmont murmured "Are you all right?"

Shortly after, she gave out a small "Hmm" as a reply and it eased down the fear that was starting to rise inside Elmont. _Calm down, she is still with you_ , he thought sternly to himself. Holding her with his left arm, he rubbed her back gently with his right arm, trying to create some fiction and some warmth to her body.

After a moment, it seemed what he was doing was working; her cheek has gotten a bit colour back and her body was more relaxed. But they could not stay in this cold forever, Elmont told himself. And from the look of it, this woman has travelled a long distance and she was alone. _I have to get her to some where safe, some where I can keep an eye on her_. Pulling her a bit closer to his body, Elmont started to walk slowly to his horse. Once he has reached the brown Mustang, he lifted her carefully on to it and after securing himself that she was safe on top of the horseback, he mounted the Mustang, sitting behind the woman.

At first, he wasn't sure where he should go. If he went back to the castle, he wouldn't get the chance to watch over her himself, and it was out of the question for Elmont that he should not take care of her and make sure that she was fine. Besides, he got a lot of questions too. So, he spun his horse around and rode towards his house.

 _tbc_

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 **AN: What do you think? Good? Bad? Is there anything I should? Something you want to see in chapters coming? Please tell me! :)**


	2. Warmth

**AN: Howdy folks? Hope that you are doing good. :D Thank you for those of you that reviewed! I can't tell you how happy I'm to hear from you readers! :)**

 **Here's chapter 2 of Flames. It has been difficult for me to write it, but with the continuing support of my friend, and world's best FF writer (At least I think so), SerendipityAEY, I managed to finish the chapter. From here on, it should get smoother. Fingers crossed!**

 **Hope you guys like it, please R &R!**

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 **Chapter 2: Warmth**

As Adreana slowly started to wake from her little nap, she was first of all surprised by the amount of cold wind that hit her face. However, as consciousness caught up with her, she found out that she on top of a horse! And before she knew it, she started to panic and tried to jump off the horse, but a strong arm held her back and a deep voice followed.

"You are safe. I won't hurt you."

But the voice did not help much to her panic, it just rose another hitch, and her panicked even more when she couldn't move.

"I don't want to you to hurt yourself." The voice has become stern now.

"Why do you care," Adreana retorted.

"If I didn't care, you will still be lying on an ice-cold ground and covered with snow by now."

Adreana opened her mouth, trying to find the correct words to protest with, but there weren't any that came to mind. So she tried to ease her panic instead, telling silently to herself that she was going to be find and that her "rescuer" wouldn't do her any harm.

Next time she opened her eyes, Adreana found that they had stopped outside a house. She scanned her surroundings, but all she could see were plains covered with snow and a person standing beside the horse she was on, with his right hand stretched out.

"Come on, we are here now," the person said with a gentle voice.

"Where are we?" Adreana could feel that she was scared, she tried to hide her fear that tried to make a grand entrance from her mouth.

Even though it was too dark for her to see the person's face, she could still sense a smile on his mouth when he spoke.

"We are at my house."

After a moment, he added. "You are safe here."

After a few seconds of consideration, Adreana took his hand and dismounted the horse. However, as she was about to release his hand, he tightened his hold around her and guided her towards the front door.

Releasing her hand, he opened the door, stepped aside and made a welcome gesture. "Lady first."

With easy and measured steps, Adreana walked to the centre of what she thought was the living room. She stood there. Suddenly she felt a chilly feeling ran through her body, which caused her to pull her arms around her body.

"Are you cold? I'll make a fire," her rescuer said, walking pass her.

After a while, the room was lit up by the golden flame that came out of the hearth. The flame didn't only lit up the room, it also lit up Adreana's heart a bit. She could feel that she was starting slowly to get feelings back on her feet, hands and cheek. She could also, for the first time, have a good look at her rescuer.

He was dressed in armours, hair a bit wet from the snow and had a golden colour because of the fire. He had a red woollen cloak around him and a sword hung loosely on the left side his waist. He looked... _hot_ , Adreana thought indirectly.

With easy steps and his left hand on the sword hilt, he came closer to her. Stopping only twenty metres from her. "Are you feeling better now," he asked with a gentle voice.

His voice felt like a warm blanket, wrapped securely around her. Adreana has not felt this kind of comfort for a long time, not since... _Not since I met the boy during my visit to Cloister_. Suddenly, a crazy thought ran through Adreana's mind, but she shook it off as quickly as the idea has surfaced. Instead, she stood there and stared into a pair of blue/grey eyes. Adreana knew that she was staring, but she didn't care – she could look at those eyes for ages and forget every bad thing that has ever happened to her. However the spell was broken when he blinked. Adreana let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, but when she looked up again... _Sweet heaven..._ He was smiling kindly at her, and the look almost knocked her over. Quickly, she took a step back, trying to get some distance, and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. _What's wrong with me? I don't even know him! Stop acting like a child_ , Adreana thought. But deep down inside she knew it was going to be hard.

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As Elmont stood there and watched her staring at his eyes, he tried to stay solemn, but he couldn't help but smile when he heard she let out a long breath. However, things didn't got any better when she looked up again. Elmont was ready to catch her in case she fainted. In light of the fire, Elmont could easily see her pupils dilated and even though the distance between them was quite far, he could still sense that she had stopped breathing again. So with two large steps, he closed the distance and put his hands on her shoulder, giving a gentle shake.

"Are you all right?"

Immediately, she recovered and shook her head. "Yes – yes, I'm find," she murmured, looking down.

Taking her hand in his, Elmont guided her to the couch near the fire.

"Sit and make yourself comfortable," he said, taking a sit a bit away from her and giving her a bit of distance. He got a feeling that she needed it.

After a moment, she lifted her head and a tear felt down.

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 **AN: How was it? Please give me a comment! Laters folks!  
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